Mikhail Dmitriyevich Skobelev | |
|---|---|
 Mikhail Skobelev | |
| Nickname(s) | White General White Pasha Bloody Eyes |
| Born | (1843-09-29)29 September 1843 Saint Petersburg,Russian Empire |
| Died | 7 July 1882(1882-07-07) (aged 38) Moscow, Russian Empire |
| Allegiance |  Russian Empire |
| Service | Imperial Russian Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1882 |
| Rank | General of the Infantry |
| Commands | 4th Army Corps (Russian Empire) |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Order of St. George Order of St. Vladimir Order of Saint Anna |
Mikhail Dmitriyevich Skobelev (Russian:Михаил Дмитриевич Скобелев; 29 September 1843 – 7 July 1882), aRussian general, became famous for hisconquest of Central Asia and for his heroism during theRusso-Turkish War of 1877–1878. Dressed in a white uniform and mounted on a white horse, and always in the thickest of the fray, he was known and adored by his soldiers as the "White General"[1] (and by the Turks as the "WhitePasha").[2] During acampaign in Khiva, hisTurkmen opponents called himgoz ganly or "Bloody Eyes".
BritishField MarshalBernard Montgomery assessed Skobelev as the world's "ablest single commander" between 1870 and 1914[3] and wrote of his "skilful and inspiring"leadership.[4]Francis Vinton Greene also rated Skobelev highly.[5]
Skobelev was born inSaint Petersburg on 29 September 1843, at thePetropavlovskaya prison, where his grandfather was the prison chief.[1] His mother was Russian philanthropistOlga Skobeleva, and his father was Russian generalDmitry Ivanovich Skobelev.[6] His youngest sister Zinaida (1856-1899) was married toEugen Maximilianovich, 5th Duke of Leuchtenberg. After graduating from theGeneral Staff Academy as a staff officer, he was sent toTurkestan in 1868 and, with the exception of an interval of two years, during which he was on the staff of the grand duke Michael in theCaucasus, remained in Central Asia until 1877.[1]
During theKhivan campaign of 1873 he commanded the advance guard of GeneralLomakin's column from Kinderly Bay, in theCaspian Sea, to join General Verevkin, fromOrenburg, in the expedition to theKhanate of Khiva, and, after great suffering on the desert march, took a prominent part in the capture of the Khivan capital. Later, dressed as aTurkoman, he explored in a hostile country the route from Khiva toIgdy on the old riverbed of theOxus.[1]
In 1875, he was given an important command in the expedition against theKhanate of Kokand under GeneralKonstantin Petrovich von Kaufmann, showing great capacity in the action of Makram, where he outmanoeuvered a greatly superior force and captured 58 guns, and in a night attack during the retreat fromAndijan, routed a large force with a handful of cavalry.[1]
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He was promoted tomajor-general, decorated with theOrder of St George, and appointed the first governor of theFerghanaOblast. In theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878), he crossed the Danube with the 8th Corps. Skobelev commanded the CaucasianCossack Brigade in the attack of the Green Hills at thesecond battle of Pleven.[1] An infantry division under Skobelev's command assailed the Grivitsa redoubt to the north. Schakofsky managed to take two redoubts, but by the end of the day the Ottoman forces succeeded in repulsing all the attacks and retaking lost ground. Russian losses amounted to 7,300, and the Ottomans' to 2,000.
At thecapture of Lovetch on 3 September, the general distinguished himself again in desperate fighting on the Green Hills during thethird battle of Pleven in which Skobelev took two southern redoubts. The Romanian 4th division, led by General George Manu, took the Grivitsa redoubt after four bloody assaults, personally assisted by Prince Carol. The next day the Turks retook the southern redoubts, but could not dislodge the Romanians, who repelled three counterattacks. From the beginning of September, Russian losses had amounted to roughly 20,000, while the Ottomans lost 5,000.
Promoted tolieutenant-general and given the command of the 16th Division, he took part in the investment of Pleven and also in thefight of 9 December, when Osman Pasha surrendered, with his army. In January 1878 he crossed the Balkans in a severe snowstorm, defeating the Turks at Sheynovo, nearShipka and capturing 36,000 men and 90 guns.[1]
Skobelev returned toTurkestan after the war, and in 1880 and 1881 further distinguished himself by retrieving the disasters inflicted by the Tekke Turkomans:[1] following theSiege of Geoktepe, it was stormed, the general capturedthe fort. Around 8,000 Turkmen soldiers and civilians, including women and children were slaughtered in a bloodbath in their flight, along with an additional 6,500 who died inside the fortress.[7] The Russians' massacre included all Turkmen males in the fortress who had not escaped, but they spared some 5,000 women and children and freed 600 Persian slaves. The defeat at Geok Tepe and the following slaughter broke the Turkmen resistance and decided the fate of Transcaspia, which was annexed to the Russian Empire. The great slaughter cowed theAkhal-Tekke country into submission.[8][9] Skobelev was removed from his command because of the massacre. He was advancing onAshkhabad and Kalat i-Nadiri when he was disavowed and recalled to Moscow. He was given the command atMinsk. The official reason for his transfer to Europe was to appease European public opinion over the slaughter at Geok Tepe. Some have suggested that he was suffering from delusions of grandeur and showing signs of political ambition.[10][11]
In the last years of his life, Skobelev engaged actively in politics, supporting the ideas ofRussian nationalism and militantPan-Slavism.[12] He has also been credited as one of the earliest promoters of the concept "Russia for Russians".[13] At the beginning of 1882, he made speeches inParis and in Moscow, predicting desperate strife between Slavs and Germans.[14] He was at once recalled to St Petersburg.
Skobelev was staying at the Hotel Dusseaux in Moscow on 7 July 1882 when, by official account, he died suddenly of a heart attack.[1][15][16]
While, actually, he died of exhaustion in Moscow's Angleterre Hotel, a brothel, in a suite of a German prostitute named Charlotte Altenrose (or, by some accounts, Altenroz, Altenroze, also known as "Eleanor," "Wanda," and "Rosa".)[17][18] His mistress went away and called a local street sweeper, who identified the deceased, and called police. Police, upon arrival pushed onlookers out of the scene, and transported Skobelev's dead body back into the Hotel Dusseaux. Coroner cited "paralysis of heart and lungs."[19] This story immediately became a taboo in Russia with only few accounts testified about the real circumstances surrounding his death, includingFrank Harris In his memoirs described how a Russian officer told him that Skobelev died in a brothel.[20] This scenario is also alluded to inAleksander Kuprin's short storyTemptation.[21]
Alexander III wrote: "His loss to the Russian army is one it is hard to replace, and it must be deeply lamented by all true soldiers. It is sad, very sad, to lose men so useful and so devoted to their mission."[22] This became especially evident during theRusso-Japanese War of 1904–05. The Russian generals commanding in that war were men of Skobelev's generation, but none of them had his military genius or charisma.
After Skobelev's death, inMoscow a monument was raised in his honour on a major square onTverskaya Street (across from the city hall, where today stands the statue ofYuri Dolgorukiy, the founder of Moscow), which was given his name, and the town ofFergana inUzbekistan was renamed Skobelev.
Today, his name still lives, even beyond theRussian Federation: shortly after the end of the Turkish War of 1877, the Bulgarians constructed a park inPleven,Skobelev Park, on one of the hills where the major battles for the city took place. The park is also a location of the PanoramaPleven's Epopee 1877 memorial, where in one of the scenes of the gigantic 360 degreepanoramic painting the White General is displayed charging with his horse and bare sword, leading the infantry Russian attack on the Turkish positions. A central boulevard inSofia, the capital city ofBulgaria, also bears Mikhail Dmitriyevich Skobelev's name.
Shortly after the entrance of the park, the bust of the famous general can be seen, watching over the city. The park contains memorials with the names of the Russian and Romanian soldiers that died for the liberation ofPleven, and is decorated with non-functional arms donated by Russia: cannons, cannonballs, gatling guns, rifles, and bayonets.
In the 1955 Soviet-Bulgarian war epicHeroes of Shipka Skobelev, played byYevgeny Samoylov, is portrayed as one of the films main heroes.
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Skobelev, Mikhail Dimitriévich".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 193.The ablest single commander of this period was the Russian conqueror of Turkestan, Mikhail Skobelev (1843-82).
This war presents various interesting features. One was the skilful and inspiring leadership of Skobelev.
